Cops: Highly combative' man taken into custody for assault after choking woman and resisting arrest

SOUDERTON — A Telford man with a “history of explosive and violent behavior,” according to police, was arrested on Sept. 15 after allegedly pushing a woman out of his vehicle and then choking her, then resisting attempts by police to take him into custody.

Telford police said that around 10 p.m. on Sept. 15, officers were dispatched to the Telford Garden Apartments, where a woman said that she and Dewayne Johnson, 35, who resides at the apartment complex, were arguing inside Johnson’s car in the parking lot when he pushed her out of the car, then grabbed her and pushed her to the ground and started choking her.

While officers were speaking to the woman, a vehicle drove into the parking lot “at a high rate of speed” and drove directly at the officer and the woman before swerving around them and coming to an abrupt stop, according to a criminal complaint filed in district court.

Johnson exited the vehicle and began screaming at the woman and others in the parking lot, police said, and when told to calm down by an officer — who called in for backup — the “highly combative” Johnson told the officer to “shut up,” according to the complaint.

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Police said the officer ordered Johnson to place his hands above his head and Johnson was handcuffed, but as the officer tried to move Johnson to the back of the vehicle and pat him down, Johnson struggled and both men went to the ground fighting as another officer arrived at the scene and helped restrain Johnson.

When officers then spoke to Johnson, according to police, he was “derogatory and vulgar” and at one point allegedly told them, “I swear in front of you guys, I will kill the two of them.”

After being placed in the back of a Telford patrol vehicle, Johnson began screaming again and kicked the partition and door, according to police, who said they could smell the odor of alcohol emanating from Johnson.

Officers observed that the woman had light red marks around her neck and that Johnson had scratch marks on his neck that were fresh and bleeding, according to the complaint.

When asked what happened to his neck, police said, Johnson claimed that the scratches were from the night before, although he allegedly admitted grabbing the woman and yelling at her.

Police did not characterize the relationship between Johnson and the woman.

Johnson was transported to Telford police headquarters, where a search turned up a clear plastic container in his pocket containing marijuana residue, according to the complaint, and Johnson was then taken to Grand View Hospital for a blood draw.

Johnson was arraigned on Sept. 16 before District Judge Kenneth Deatelhauser of Souderton on charges of simple assault, terroristic threats, driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and careless driving.

Deatelhauser set bail at $10,000 cash, and Johnson was committed to Montgomery County Correctional Facility, where he remains behind bars while awaiting a preliminary hearing before Deatelhauser that’s scheduled for Oct. 22.